


Shift

by paragonparadigm



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-29
Updated: 2012-10-29
Packaged: 2017-11-17 08:08:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/549411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paragonparadigm/pseuds/paragonparadigm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What time does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shift

It was amazing what a span of six months could change. Her skin was softer, reflexes slower, and her heart heavier. She’d finally seen the planet her parents had spoken of, the one planet her boots had never tread upon. Earth was all they’d said it would be, a great metropolis, probably not a great sight to civilizations like the Asari, but to her it had been beautiful.

It was also lonely.

As foolish as it was to pine over a man, that’s precisely what she’d done. Wondering what he might say about the sharp lines of the skyscrapers, about the unobtrusive military presence that seemed to shadow her every move. Knowing Garrus he’d likely make escaping them a contest.

There would be one of those low rumbles of laughter in his chest, that infectious sound that had the singular power to lift her spirits. He was the only man she’d ever met that could could make her feel joy from the top of her head to the very tips of her toes.

But that was six months ago.

Her skin was softer, reflexes  just a little slower, and her heart so much heavier. The Reapers landed, a great booming crash and buzz echoing across the world she couldn’t protect. Not while she was so small. Her boots were coated with dust and blood, leaving a small trail behind her as she carved a path towards the space port. Lives were extinguished and the city falling.

She had to leave one of her oldest friends behind, a man she revered like a father, to face the enemy alone. Flew to Mars, found an old friend and nearly lost another. Saw the Citadel full of false hope and useless placation. And then hope in the form of a bargain from the least expected source. A mission to the one place in the Galaxy that could give her hope or take it all away.

A foolish thing, pining over a man.

Words were hollow, stuck in a mouth that couldn’t form around them in the first place. Fear mixing with adrenaline as Palaven came into view, even if it wasn’t her destination, she could see his home. Was he down there fighting now? Was he even alive, and if he was, well what then? The fight cleared her mind. Find cover, release combat drone, blast some husks all to hell, repeat.

Sweat was dripping down her face by the time they fixed the comm tower that would help sort out the whole primarch business. Muscles cried out in protest, a reminder that she should have taken James up on those sparring matches he’d offered back on Earth. Half a year with no _real_ combat shouldn’t have been an option. Once things were sorted out and they made it back to the Normandy she’d make good on all those old offers. 

No time to stop, Corinthus needed them back, needed to get a move on. Always moving, always running. Damned if she didn’t miss it though. She moved easily over the rocky terrain, starting to enjoy the weight of the weapons at her back. War was a certain kind of tonic. _  
_

It wasn’t long before she stood before Corinthus once again, and she had to admit that the General was a sight to see. If they couldn’t find the Primarch chances were she’d convince him to tag along instead. Easier to trust a turian when they’d been in the trenches, when the smell of blood and the screams of the dying served as a reminder of what was really at stake. No political chains to hold them back.

She was about to tell him as much when another voice interrupted. A familiar rumble that never failed to make her translator lag.

The world seemed to shift. Six months and nothing had changed. Mandibles flared out in what amounted to a nervous grin and bright eyes sending encouragement without a word.

“Garrus, you’re alive?” Words stuck in a mouth that didn’t know what else to say. Was it shock or fear or some other emotion her brain couldn’t verbalize at the moment? It didn’t matter, none of that mattered.

Six months and nothing had changed.


End file.
